by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#69GJV)
UFC welterweight world champion Leon Edwards says to fight crime more money is needed for facilitiesA champion mixed martial artist has urged Rishi Sunak to accelerate funding for youth clubs, end years of cuts and “just help the kids”.Leon Edwards, 31, welterweight world champion who affiliated with gangs in his teens in Birmingham after his father was murdered, said the reason for rising violent crime in his region was clear: “There is nothing for the kids to do apart from being on your phone or on the street.” Continue reading...
Regulator says Mark Steyn’s use of data to draw misleading conclusions breached impartiality guidelinesGB News breached impartiality rules when the presenter Mark Steyn used official health data to draw misleading conclusions about the Covid-19 booster that “materially misled” the audience, the media regulator has found.Ofcom said Steyn used UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data in a broadcast on 21 April last year to wrongly claim the figures provided evidence that a third booster was causing higher infection, hospitalisation and deaths. Continue reading...
Offences were committed in months before former Met police officer kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah EverardWayne Couzens has been sentenced to 19 months in prison for flashing at women in the months before he kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard.The former Metropolitan police officer was supposed to be on duty and working from home when he exposed himself to a female cyclist in a country lane in Kent in November 2020. Continue reading...
Calls for ministers to help industry cut emissions from items including washing-up liquid and laundry tabletsChemicals used in everyday household items from washing-up liquid to laundry tablets are a huge hidden source of carbon emissions, according to a report.The thinktank Green Alliance is calling on UK ministers to lead a green revolution in chemical manufacturing to cut the carbon footprint of everyday consumer products. Continue reading...
Registrations hit 74,400 in seventh successive month of growth, with electric cars accounting for 16.5%The number of cars sold in the UK increased by 26% year on year in February, the seventh successive month of growth as the industry recovers from the depths of the global computer chips shortage.UK new car registrations rose by 26.2% in February to 74,400, according to data published on Monday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a lobby group. Continue reading...
Lawyers condemn EU asylum policies and demand freedom for young Afghans jailed for 2020 blaze at ‘hellish’ Lesbos campA new investigation has casts doubt on evidence used to imprison six Afghan teenagers over a fire that destroyed much of a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.Four were sentenced to 10 years in jail for “arson with risk to endanger life” and two were given five years by a youth court. The fire reduced much of the infamous “hell on earth” Moria refugee camp to ashes in September 2020. Continue reading...
GMB union calls findings based on views of more than 1,200 NHS ambulance workers in England and Wales ‘utterly terrifying’More than half of ambulance workers have seen a patient die because of a delay in reaching them after a 999 call or overcrowding in A&E, a new survey has found.The findings, from a survey of frontline paramedics and other ambulance staff, are another stark illustration of the patient safety risks created by the crisis in NHS urgent and emergency care. Continue reading...
by Robyn Vinter North of England correspondent on (#69G6M)
Thomas Cashman also charged with attempted murder of Olivia’s mother, Cheryl, and Joseph Nee in Liverpool last yearThe trial of Thomas Cashman, the man accused of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Liverpool last August, is to begin on Monday.Cashman, 34, is due to stand trial for murder at Manchester crown court in a case that is expected to last four weeks, after he pleaded not guilty in December. Continue reading...
Victims groups criticise compensation deal which aims to resolve a disagreement that has long frustrated ties between Seoul and TokyoSouth Korea said that its companies would compensate people forced to work under Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, in a bid to improve poor relations that have impeded trade and cooperation between the two countries for generations.The disagreements over labour and women forced into Japanese military brothels have bedevilled ties between the two pivotal US allies for years, but South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol has made a push to repair the relationship. Continue reading...
Duke and Duchess of Sussex yet to confirm attendance at crowning of King Charles III in MayPrince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have received an invitation to King Charles’s coronation, a spokesperson for the couple indicated on Sunday, but will not yet confirm publicly whether they will attend.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s attendance at his father’s coronation has been the subject of much speculation after the fallout from Harry’s explosive memoir, Spare. Continue reading...
Alison McGuinness has applied for regulator’s approval of Bolton facility using new company with different nameThe mother of a disgraced children’s home operator is attempting to reopen a home shut down by inspectors last year for “serious and widespread failures”, using a new company with a different name.Ofsted is deciding whether to allow the home in Bolton to reopen after the local council, which cannot legally block the move, raised concerns with the inspectorate. Continue reading...
Humza Yousaf warns fellow frontrunners to replace Sturgeon in Scotland not to abandon her progressive agendaThe frontrunners fighting to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland’s first minister have clashed over whether to defend or abandon her centre-left, socially inclusive policies.In a further sign of the divisions opening up within the SNP, Humza Yousaf warned his rivals that support for the party and independence would be badly damaged if they abandoned her “progressive agenda”. Continue reading...
Suella Braverman will propose changes after arrests of reporters at a Just Stop Oil demonstrationJournalists are to get an extra protection from being arrested at protests after a campaign following the the detention of a reporter and photographers at a Just Stop Oil demonstration last year.Suella Braverman, the home secretary, will introduce an amendment to the public order bill, after peers had voted through a change to stop those reporting on protests from being subject to police action. Continue reading...
Organisation considered dropping payments after criticism by government ministers but board decided they were necessary to ‘incentivise’ senior staffAustralia Post considered scrapping controversial bonus payments to its executives last year, internal documents reveal, but the organisation’s board eventually decided they were needed to “incentivise” senior staff.The discussion came after long-running criticism of the multimillion dollar scheme by senior government ministers, who wrote to the board raising concerns the incentives were out-of-step with community expectations. Continue reading...
UK government also looking into allowing more hospitality staff to come from abroadMinisters are looking at bringing in annual health checks for workers and allowing more hospitality staff to come from abroad in a bid to deal with labour shortages.The plans could involve giving companies subsidies for occupational health services to prevent workers going off long-term sick, as part of the government’s review of the workforce to be unveiled alongside the budget this month. Continue reading...
Agency has ‘most of the blame’, says Andrew Roussos, whose eight-year-old daughter died in 2017 bombingThe father of the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena bombing has said he intends to sue MI5 as it has “most of the blame” for the attack.The security service’s director general, Ken McCallum, issued a public apology after the inquiry into the May 2017 atrocity found it might have been prevented if MI5 had acted on intelligence received in the months before. Continue reading...
The axe has fallen for three sitting Conservatives after the removal of three PMs in less than four yearsAre Conservative members in revolt against their own party? One sitting MP who has recently been warned he potentially faces being deposed by his local association before the next election fears it could be the case.“We’re not generally an activist bunch, deselecting people,” the MP lamented. “It’s just not the Tory way – we like to leave all that to Labour.” Continue reading...
Exclusive: Local firms angry as debt-laden supermarket shifts to a single property maintenance providerMorrisons is planning to ditch at least 83 property maintenance suppliers, many based in its home city of Bradford, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk as it shifts to a single provider for repairs.The debt-laden supermarket chain, which is battling to save costs after a takeover in October 2021 by the Americanprivate equity group Clayton Dubilier & Rice, is also likely to lay off up to 50 staff dealing with property maintenance at its Bradford head office and around the country. Continue reading...
Teachers condemn family support for trend in England and Wales that leads to school ‘stampedes’The TikTok videos show pupils throwing bins, tables and even urine. Across England and Wales, a handful of schools have been hit by protests against rules such as banning trips to the toilet during lessons or regulations against rolled up skirts.Schools admit they are extremely worried about the copycat protests that have erupted in the last two weeks, typically sparked by videos shared on TikTok with many thousands of views. But what has shocked many leaders most is the number of parents on social media applauding pupils taking part. Continue reading...
At the opening of the Communist party’s National People’s Congress, outgoing premier Li Keqiang confirmed a further rise in defence spending as wellChina has set a target of 5% GDP growth in 2023, its outgoing premier has said in a speech to the ruling party’s rubber-stamp parliament – a goal that is at the lower end of analysts’ expectations and follows a 2022 figure that came in far below target.The “work report” speech on Sunday also touched on foreign affairs and re-emphasised the Chinese Communist party’s (CCP’s) aim to annex Taiwan. Budget papers confirmed another consecutive rise in defence spending of 7.2%, slightly up on last year’s rise of 7.1%. Continue reading...
Latest batch of WhatsApp messages reveal discussions over when to ‘deploy’ details of new strainMatt Hancock told aides he wanted to “frighten the pants off everyone” to ensure compliance with Covid-19 restrictions, according to the latest batch of leaked messages which reveal discussions over when to “deploy” details of a new strain.The WhatsApp exchanges suggest the then health secretary and others discussed how to use an announcement about the Kent variant of the virus to scare the public into changing their behaviour. Continue reading...
Police believe attack occurred outside McDonald’s in Higher BroughtonThe stabbing of a 15-year-old boy has led to an order granting police additional stop-and-search powers in Greater Manchester.Officers were called to Basten Drive, Salford, at 7.10pm on Saturday and discovered the boy with serious stab injuries. Continue reading...
Labour calls for prime minister to ensure that no key evidence, including social media data, is erasedMinisters face calls to “fast-track” the public inquiry into the pandemic as official documents show civil servants are preparing for it to run for five years or longer.The Labour party has warned that a “painfully slow” Covid inquiry increases the risk of ministers not being properly held to account for their decisions. Labour leader Keir Starmer last week called for it to report by the end of the year. Continue reading...
by Richard Luscombe and Nadeem Badshah on (#69F4C)
Duke of Sussex discusses military tours with therapist Dr Gabor Maté and says it would have been impossible for him to stay in UKThe Duke of Sussex has said some British soldiers were not “necessarily” supportive of military efforts in Afghanistan.During a live-streamed conversation with author and therapist Gabor Maté, Prince Harry discussed his military tours to Afghanistan. Continue reading...
Officials say death toll could rise as rescue operation continues in southeastern town of SitakundaAt least six people were killed and several injured on Saturday when a fire broke out after an explosion at an oxygen plant in southeastern Bangladesh, officials said.The death toll could rise as a rescue operation was ongoing at the plant at Sitakunda, 40km (25 miles) from the south-eastern port city of Chittagong, they added. Continue reading...
Three guitars, a skull-encrusted vase and an easel among items bought by the Hollywood actor at Hemswell Antiques CentresJohnny Depp bought three guitars, a skull-encrusted vase and an easel to furnish his new London home during a surprise visit to an antiques centre in Lincolnshire on Friday.The Hollywood actor, 59, known for his roles in Pirates Of The Caribbean and Fantastic Beasts, arrived at Hemswell Antiques Centres by helicopter and was taken on a private tour after hours. Continue reading...
Poll finds 41% of people say Keir Starmer’s party better at backing national interest, compared with 23% for Rishi Sunak’s ToriesAlmost twice as many voters believe Labour under Keir Starmer has the nation’s best interests at heart than say the Tories do under Rishi Sunak, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.The findings will disappoint Conservatives after a week in which Sunak managed to strike a well-received deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol, an international negotiating success that enhanced his position as party leader and prime minister. Continue reading...
by Toby Helm Observer Political Editor on (#69F5J)
Senior MPs blast ex-PM’s ‘wicked’ claims after his backers level new accusations against Keir Starmer’s appointment of Sue GrayTory support for Boris Johnson is draining away tonight as party grandees likened his response to a cross-party parliamentary inquiry into whether he misled MPs over “Partygate” to the lies of former US president Donald Trump.Several Conservative MPs in senior positions reacted with disbelief after Johnson and his dwindling band of allies questioned the work of the independent Commons privileges committee and accused it of an “outrageous level of bias”, after it said on Friday there was a significant volume of evidence suggesting that the former PM may have misled parliament. Continue reading...
UK and Australian ministers have been hinting at a trilateral design for the eight boats, but all options are still on the table in Australia’s biggest defence purchase
Fashion designer’s widower and collaborator Andreas Kronthaler says new collection is his tribute to herLess than three months after the death of Vivienne Westwood, her widower and collaborator, Andreas Kronthaler, is still in the thick of overwhelming grief.“It comes in waves,” he said, speaking backstage before the label’s show in Paris on Saturday. “This work has been kind of helpful, yes. But sometimes you pick something up, and then it hits you. But this is my personal tribute to her.” Continue reading...
by Nadeem Badshah (now); Jane Clinton and Mark Gerts on (#69ER5)
UK intelligence says Ukraine attempting to reinforce contested city with elite units but resupply lines increasingly limitedMore from BBC Radio 4’s Today.General Sir Richard Shirreff, Nato’s former deputy supreme allied commander Europe, told the programme that some countries view the conflict in Ukraine as a “European war”.There are many countries, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world where the battle of the narrative has not been won, and that’s something that I think the West absolutely need to focus on.I think there needs to be a recognition that many of the impacts of the war are hitting particularly African countries and other parts of the world very hard and that support needs to be given… and avoid the perception this is very much seen as a European war.”The Ukrainians have arguably achieved a strategic success thusfar in forcing the Russians to expend vast amounts of manpower and equipment in what is likely to be, if they take it, a Pyrrhic victory…”What we’ve seen from the West and Nato countries is a sort of incremental supply … it’s dribbled in rather that coming in in a concentrated way. If they’d had the stuff that they need months ago, we probably wouldn’t be where we are now. So this places a real imperative on speeding up the supply, the integration, the logistics support, the training and all the other stuff that needs to be done to give the Ukrainians the tools they need to do the job.”There is fighting in the city and there are also street fights but thanks to the Ukrainian armed forces they still haven’t taken control over the city.Their only goal is killing people and the genocide of the Ukrainian people…the tactic that the Russians are using is the tactic of parched land.They want to destroy Bakhmut, they want to destroy the city…and I honestly can’t understand why they’re doing this.” Continue reading...
Police say plane with two people onboard lost contact and had to be escorted to Stansted airportA loud noise thought to be a sonic boom, which was heard by many people across England, was caused by RAF jets escorting a plane.The plane had two people onboard and was flying from Iceland to Nairobi, Kenya via Southend when it lost contact and had to be escorted to Stansted airport, police said. Continue reading...
Latest set of leaked WhatsApp messages reveal animosity towards Boris Johnson’s former chief adviserDominic Cummings was criticised by one of Matt Hancock’s aides in an expletive-laden WhatsApp tirade, according to new leaked messages.The messages are among the latest set of WhatsApp correspondence to emerge from the leak of more than 100,000 messages by the journalist Isabel Oakeshott to the Daily Telegraph. Continue reading...
Press members living under the Taliban, and living uncertain lives in Pakistan, must be given clarity say campaign groupsHundreds of Afghan journalists remain stranded in increasingly “dire” circumstances as frustration mounts over the UK government’s refusal to share the latest entry criteria for its flagship resettlement programme.This weekend, a coalition of press freedom and free expression organisations, including Index on Censorship, the National Union of Journalists, PEN International and English PEN, have written to home secretary Suella Braverman asking why details of the next phase of the Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme (ACRS) have yet to be revealed. Continue reading...
Man who admits responsibility for disaster that killed at least 57 people is now due in court on SundayA court appearance for the stationmaster involved in Greece’s worst-ever train disaster has been postponed as the country braces for more mass protests over the crash that killed at least 57 people.Thousands of people have protested across the country since Tuesday’s collision between a passenger train and a freight train, with public anger mounting over government failure to manage the rail network. Continue reading...
Civil servant who led Partygate inquiry has ‘brains, knowledge, judgment and strength of character’, says Francis MaudeA Conservative former minister has defended the “integrity” of Sue Gray, the senior civil servant who led the inquiry into the Partygate scandal, after her appointment to Labour’s staff.Conservative MPs have expressed outrage over the planned recruitment of Gray, who received national prominence for her role investigating lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street. Continue reading...
With Russian forces closing in, police try to persuade remaining citizens to get out and access routes come under fire• Russia–Ukraine war: latest updatesWar breeds euphemism and metaphor. In the battle for the Donbas city of Bakhmut, threatened with a closing encirclement by Russian forces after seven months of bitter fighting, there are “White Angels” and “Dark Angels”, the “road of life” (the Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway, which is anything but) and the “Invincibility Centre”.The White Angels, a police evacuation group, scour the lethal districts of the shell-ruined city to evacuate children and the elderly. Continue reading...
Students from across five provinces receive treatment as president asks ministers to investigate latest casesDozens of Iranian schoolgirls across five provinces have been admitted to hospital in a new wave of suspected poisoning attacks, according to local media.Hundreds of cases of respiratory distress have been reported over the past three months among schoolgirls mainly in the city of Qom, south of Tehran, with some needing hospital treatment. Continue reading...
Nearly 80 officers in 22 forces across England and Wales have faced action for inappropriate relationships, data revealsNearly 80 police officers in 22 forces in England and Wales have faced disciplinary action for inappropriate sexual relationships or sexual contact with victims, witnesses and suspects since 2018, the Observer can reveal.The data, obtained through freedom of information laws, shows the majority of those facing disciplinary action were dismissed or resigned before they were dismissed. However, 10 officers remained in their jobs, facing lesser sanctions such as written warnings, suspension, or management action. At least two faced criminal proceedings. Nearly all of the offending officers were men, and all but two of the victims female. Continue reading...
Journalist’s decision to share Matt Hancock Whatsapp texts with rival outlet questioned by Cathy NewmanThe journalist who published thousands of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages left a radio interview after being questioned as to why she leaked the story to the Daily Telegraph.Isabel Oakeshott, TalkTV’s international editor, broke a non-disclosure agreement to leak thousands of messages sent by Hancock, which she had access to through co-writing his book, the Pandemic Diaries. Continue reading...
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